>> > >I'm curious if drug dealing would decrease if we ban SUV's from >> > >entering N. Phillips >> > >> > I doubt it, even if you could do it, but I sure wish the license >> > plates >> > would get published in the newspaper. >> >> In St. Paul I remember they had a website that published hookers and >> johns who were caught in Frogtown. I wonder if that had an impact and >> if such measures might deter people from coming to drug infested area >> to deal and to buy. > > And a lot of this type of stuff is being challenged in court by the > ACLU. Personally I feel that this sort of "publishing" is > slanderous/libelous (whichever one is for printed matter, I can't keep > them straight) and I hope our fair city will not engage in it.
Let me straighten some things out. Defamation of character (slander/liabel) is not the same as a violation of privacy and it does not mean saying something unkind about someone else. At it's most basic, a statement must be false to constitute defamation. In most cases it must be "knowingly" false. (In order for it to be actionable it must also cause a measurable harm.) So, if I watch my corner and I report; "A vehicle bearing license plate ABC123 stopped at the corner of Xth & Lake and picked up a <description> woman." This Is unlikely to be defamation because it is factually true. If, on the other hand I report "John Doe was seeing trolling for hookers at Xth & Lake." Then I may be making a false statement which might be actionable - 1) I may be able to confirm that John Doe owns the vehicle with that plate but I do not know if John Doe was actually driving. 2) What do I know about the person who was picked up? Anything? Even if she is a known and convicted prostitute I can not be certain that prostitution is being considered. 3) Am I reporting my own account or someone else's? If I were to set up a website to publish incidents like this I would require, at a minimum, 1) a photograph showing the vehicle, plate and identifiable landmark; 2) a signed statement from the witness; 3) NO government funding or involvement (this raises other issues) and 4) I would state no more than facts that can be readily verified by the photograph and the statement of the witness. If the witness is unwilling to testify in court, I wouldn't risk publishing it. > > Frankly, I think the better solution would be to decriminalize > behaviors that have no obvious victims. Drug buyers, drug sellers, > prostitutes and their patrons... these people are not usually If you can remove the pimps, the drugs, and the long term psychological effects from prostitution we can begin to have this conversation. Short of that, the prostitutes themselves are the victims. _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
